Clamp or prong rivet feeding mechanism



July 23, 4 J. GUALTIERE CLAMP OR PRONG RIVET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @JIHIHIIIM 'IIHHII INVENTOR M ATTORNEYS y 23, 1940-- ,LGUALTIERE 2,208,

CLAMP 0R PRONG RIVET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 28, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNVENTQiR .fzz/zaf dad/here 4m ATTORNEYS Patented July 23, 1940 UNITED STATES CLAMP OR PRONG RIVET FEEDING LIECHANISM Julius Gualtiere, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Edwin B. Stimpson Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 28, 1939, Serial No. 311,272

5 Claims.

The present invention relates broadly to an automatic feeding mechanism for staples or the like and more especially to a feeding mechanism adapted to feed relatively wide clamps or prong rivets.

The present invention is embodied in a construction wherein exit passageways are provided in the rim of a rotating feed drum which discharge wide clamps or pronged, rivets from. the feed drum with the legs of the clamps or prongs of the rivets extending away from the edge of the feed drum.

The specific embodiment of the present invention comprisesa feed drum having a series of 1 guide blocks secured on the edge or rim thereof in such manner as to guide wide clamps into path-' ways between the blocks so that the clamps which fall astride the guide blocks, when amass of clamps are tumbled in the rotating feed drum, will be discharged to a suitable guide rail to form a column or progression of clamps that may be fed one at a time to a suitable clinching mechanism common in the art of clamp or rivet setting mechanisms.

Since the present invention is devoted primarily to the feeding of individual clamps in a predetermined position from a heterogeneous mass,

the setting mechanism is not shown in the present disclosure.

Fig, 1 is a front view of feed mechanism. in accordance with the present invention with a portion of the feed drum broken away.-

Fig. 2 is a side view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 with a portion of the drum broken away in accordance with the disclosure of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a face view of the feed drum looking toward the inner side of the feed drum and showing two of the guide blocks removed.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the feed drum illustrated in Fig. 3. I

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a portion of the rim of the feed drum illustrating one guide block.

Fig. 6 illustrates a form of clamp adapted to be fed by the present device.

Fig. '7 adapted to be fed by a device of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings and more espeillustrates a form of pronged rivet l. A thumb nut 8 applies pressure to the tri- I angular spring 6 and through the reaction of the ratchet wheel 9 against the boss 2 presses the inner face edge of the rotating drum 5 into engagement with the back plate 4 to prevent articles, fed intothe rotating drum 5 through the hopper ill, from escaping from the drum except through predetermined channels.

An intermittent rotating motion, in'the direction of the arrow A, is imparted to the rotating drum 5 by means of dogs II and I2 which are mounted upon an oscillating lever Hi. that is swung on its pivot l5 by the operating rod I6 which has a vertical reciprocating movement as indicated by the double arrow B. This reciprocating movement to the rod in is imparted through a foot treadle or other mechanism common in the art of devices of this kind and therefore is not specifically shown in the present disclosure. The dogs H and i2 are retained in engagement with a ratchet wheel 9 by means of a coiled spring H, which extends between the dogs and the ends of which are respectively anchored to the said dogs. The dog I l is effective to rotate the drum 5 when the rod It moves downwardly and the dog I2 is effective to rotate the drum when the rod I6 moves upwardly, thus, the drum is intermittently operated as the device is actuated for setting the articles fed from the drum.

The edge of the drum 5 is provided with abutments 18 best shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, which arereces'sed to carry guide blocks I3. Triangular shaped extensions 20 of the abutments extend above the guide blocks l9 when guide blocks are mounted in place on the abutments [8 by means of stub screws 2| and dowel pins 22. The ends of the triangular shaped extensions contact with the back plate 4 thereby positioning the guide blocks [9 intermediate the face 24 on the drum 5 and the back plate 4 of the main frame. The inner portions 25 of the guide blocks l9 extend substantially tangentially to a circle concentric with they axis of the journal shaft 1. These inner portions 25 blend by curved portions 26 to substantially straight outlet or exit guide portions 21 that terminate in angularly disposed surfaces 28. The inner ends 29 of the guideblocks extend beyond the abutments l8, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, so that the portions 25, 26,.21, and 28 constitute free edges on which articles, conformed to lit the guide blocks, may slide through the passageways 30 between the guide blocks and the adjacent abutments. The abutment surfaces, facing the angularly disposed surfaces 28 on the guide blocks are preferably cut 55 away at 3| to flare out and enlarge the passageways 30 at this point so as to permit slight turning or tilting movement to the articles being fed from the feed drum 5 as the articles escape from the passageways 30.

The articles which the present device is more especially constructed to feed are of the character illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 wherein the clamp 32 having a wide rounded top is particularly adapted for the constructions disclosed herewith and the wide topped pronged rivet or staple 34 illustrated in Fig. '7 may also be fed by the present device.

The articles to be fed by the present construction are placed in the hopper It! through the hopper opening 35 and the machine is operated to reciprocate the operating rod I6. This causes the drum to rotate in the direction of the arrow A (Fig. 1) and the mass of clamps in the hopper to be tumbled about. The clamps assume heterogeneous positions with some of the clamps so arranged as to drop astride the inner portionsof the guide blocks i 9. Such clamps fall by gravity into the passageways 30 between the guide blocks and the adjacent abutments. A terminal block 36 comprises the terminal portion of the rim 3? of the back plate 4. A guide rod 38 is so supported on the main frame I as to provide a free edge and has a straight portion 39 spaced apart from the terminal block 36 to provide a vertical passageway 40 and with a curved portion H spaced apart from the edge of the drum 5 to form a continuation of the passageway 40. The cross-section of the guide rod 38 is similar to the cross-section of the guide blocks l9, namely, with a rounded edge and substantially free parallel sides so as to provide a suitable guide rail for clamps 32 being fed from the rotating drum 5. As the drum rotates, the clamps on the guide blocks 19 and within the passageways 30 are carried upwardly until they pass the end of the terminal block 36. Since the clamps have been guided with the legs thereof extending outwardly from the rim of the rotating drum 5, the action of gravity tends to cause the clamps to tilt and to slide downwardly into the cutaway portion 3| on the abutments H3. The clamps have now assumed a position they may tilt past the portion 28 on the adjacent guide blocks and drop freely into the passageway 40 between the edge of the drum 5 and the guide rod 38. The clamps have now assumed single file progression on the guide rod and slide downward on the guide rod 38 to a point where they may be fed to suitable mechanism which places the clamps i1? position to be set by a setting plunger into the work for which the clamps are designed. Since the present disclosure is limited to the feed drum mechanism, the setting plunger is omitted for the sake of clearness.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the present invention relates to a feed drum adapted to feed relatively wide clamps or pronged rivets with the legs thereof extending outwardly from the periphery or edge of the feed drum whereby the clamps or pronged rivets may assume a single line formation on a suitable guide member so that the clamps or pronged rivets may be definitely and accurately positioned to be fed one at a time to a suitable setting mechanism.

l Vhat I claim is:

1. A device of the class described comprising a feed drum, abutments on the edge of said feed drum, guide blocks mounted on said abutments with a free edge of each guide block comprising a guide member to direct bifurcated articles from said feed drum with the legs of said articles extending in a radial direction away from the edge of said drum.

2. A device of the class described comprising a rotatable feed drum, a hopper leading into said feed drum, a back plate against which the edge of said feed drum slides during rotation, abutments on the edge of said drum, guide blocks mounted on said abutments, each of said guide blocks having a free edge, a portion of said free edges being tangential to a circle of rotation of said drum, said guide blocks being separated from adjacent abutments to form feed passageways, and the terminal portions of said guide blocks being angularly disposed and the adjacent opposed abutments being cut away to provide flared-out ends to each feed passageway.

3. A device of the class described comprising a feed drum, a series of abutments on the edge of said feed drum, a series of removable guide blocks mounted on said abutments to comprise free edges to form supporting guides over which bifurcated articles within said drum may lodge, said guide blocks being spaced apart to provide passageways for said articles, a guide rail having a portion adjacent the edge of said drum and adapted to constitute a guide member to arrange articles fed from said drum into a single file and to guide said single file of articles to a work station.

l. In a device of the class described, a feed drum, a plurality of guide members disposed on the edge of the feed drum to guide bifurcated articles from the feed drum with the legs of said articles escaping first from the edge of said drum, a guide rail adjacent the edge of said drum and positioned relative to said guide members so that said articles are astride said rail when said articles have escaped from said drum, and means to rotate said drum.

5. In a device of the class described, a feed drum, a series of guide blocks on the feeding edge of said drum, said guide blocks each having a free edge adapted to form a member upon which bifurcated articles may sit astride and slide downward by gravity, said blocks being spaced apart to form passageways, said bifurcated articles being delivered from said drum through said passageways with the legs thereof 

